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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22413523">Coincidences, Consequences.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/4spir3_2_Writ3/pseuds/4spir3_2_Writ3'>4spir3_2_Writ3</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ashryn is an intern, Awkward Romance, F/M, Flash is Anti-Venom, Flash is cool with Peter, Medium Burn, Might be illegal, Peter is a full-time Bugle Photographer, Peter is cool in Ashryn's eyes, Romance?, Spidey-sense actually helps with deducing alter egos, they do deduce alter egos in this one, yes - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:01:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,327</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22413523</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/4spir3_2_Writ3/pseuds/4spir3_2_Writ3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>▪Set in a mix of 616 and the MCU, but will still be using Tom Holland because he's my baby▪</p><p>Peter Parker is your average bloke. He's unnimpresive, awkward and kind of a wimp. Or so he wants you to think, because when he puts on a mask. He becomes amazing.</p><p>Ashryn is a temptress that doesn't know she's a temptress. She's impulsive and confident, but she never touches anyone and never goes out at night. The reasoning is a secret she keeps locked in.</p><p>But, by series of freak coincidences, the two seem inseparable to each other by fate. </p><p>And with coincidences, comes consequences.</p><p>●●●●●</p><p>Oh hiatus because I decided to make a Technoblade crackfic. Could be adopted if wanted.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peter Parker/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hide.</p><p>Ashryn heard her subconsious scream out, which earned a quick spin to look at her surroundings. A flinch and a quick sidestep followed as a male almost hit her. </p><p>Surprised by the sudden jolt of the female, said boy tripped over his own foot, only to quickly roll and get his feet under him in what seemed like a split second. </p><p>"Oof, sorry 'bout tha-" The boy turned to look at whom he had almost collided with but saw nothing. "Huh..." he stared at nothing as he scratched his nape, "Must be my imagination." He excused himself and continued to walk.</p><p>But it wasn't his imagination, the female was on the benches, hiding. She sighed softly, looking up at the skylight of the bank. Then, those words hit her again.</p><p>Hide.</p><p>It hit her thoughts like a truck. Ashryn groaned and stood up, taking another spin around the vicinity as she shook her head. She was on a bank, she was safe.</p><p>Nothing could infiltrate the most protected bank in New York.</p><p>Right?</p><p>And as those thoughts rose up in her head a large thud could be heard. The people panicked.</p><p>Thud.</p><p>Thud.</p><p>Thud.</p><p>And break.</p><p>The walls broke as it revealed the terrifying human earthquake. The Shocker had come for trouble.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. What a shocker.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Crack.</p><p>Was all Ashryn could hear in the stunned silence of her head. Nothing was registering as she found herself victim to debris.</p><p>She was thrown back to a wall, and so were a few others who were unlucky enough to have landed on their head, or in a sitting duck position. </p><p>Ashryn let out an involuntary groan as she felt blunt pain from her front, impact jolts from her spine and something dripping from her head.</p><p>The Shocker looked around the vicinity with a smirk on his face. "Everybody get your hands up or the whole building gets turned to rubble!" The imposing voice of the villain rendered everyone frozen.</p><p>Unfortunately for The Shocker, the security alarms had gone off. But considering the police's strength, he would be able to get rid of them with ease.</p><p>Ashryn, still reeling from earlier, looked at the villain. She felt a cough come up her throat, as the pain slowly went away. She crawled her way to the crowd.</p><p>The Shocker looked at the wall of bodies, taking a moment to register what he had just done, though his trance was broken as he noticed someone crawling their way to the mass of people, he saw the droplets of blood trailing the female. "Jesus, how are you still alive?" The baddie questioned her.</p><p>Ashryn looked over at the voice. At this point it was pure adrenaline fuelling her veins. So, in a moment of pure stupidity, she sprang up her feet.</p><p>In a flash, the female's eyes glowed crimson red. Her complexion shifted from vanilla-white to blue, as the oddly coloured lilac blood from her head finally made sense. </p><p>The Shocker was well, shocked, at the development. Though he stood his ground, still confident his gauntlets would be adequate enough to make quick work of the female.</p><p>Ashryn stepped forward, ready to evade whatever strike the villain would send. </p><p>The Shocker, being the rusher he was, sent his strongest punch forward, aiming to incapacitate, or even kill the female.</p><p>Thankfully, the dark elf's reflexes didn't fail her, she managed to evade the obvious punch. But didn't account for the shockwave right after as she was sent crashing back into the all familiar wall. </p><p>Another involuntary groan left Ashryn's lips. She sent a glare at the villain, she wasn't going to let herself be a bird of prey for him to show off. She charged at him.</p><p>The gauntlet wearing baddie couldn't believe the balls on the female, who charged him head on one more time. He sent another one of his ground-headed overhands.</p><p>Ashryn evaded the strike once again, then jumped up in the air. She scouted the shockwave this time, landing an impressive kick on the Shocker's dome. </p><p>Shocker reeled back from a shot he never saw coming, from a foe that he had no idea existed. His annoyance grew further before he decided to put a stop to this once and for all.</p><p>Ashryn stepped back. She saw the villain's furious expression, which send a jolt of fear up her spine. The woman was facing off against a full-blown villain, and she only had herself. The odds were stacked.</p><p>And it proved dividends, as the Shocker charged at her with malicious intent. His hands all the way up, promising to deliver an earthshattering shockwave. </p><p>Ashryn could do nothing but stare, she froze in the moment. She stared at the gauntlets as they projected themself down to hit her. She shut her eyes in defeat, her only satisfaction came at the fact that the people managed to get away through the hole Shocker had made.</p><p>One second, two seconds. Five seconds passed. She felt nothing. Confused, the girl opened her eyes. The gauntlets were hovering over her, shaking in tension. This time she didn't freeze, and rolled out of the way. And on cue, the Shocker's hands came down and sent a massive shockwave that rendered Ashryn flying.</p><p>The female fell limp in the air, helpless. But all of a sudden, she found herself caught by a bed of webs, she looked at the villain's gauntlets, which were covered in webs. Then up at the ceiling.</p><p>All glorious, in red and blue. The one and only Spider-man hung for the ceiling. "Herman! It's nice to see you today." Spidey said with a hint of sarcasm only he could muster. He dropped down to the ground and covered the villain with a flurry of webs.</p><p>"Spider-" The Shocker was cut short before finding himself trapped in a coffin of webs. </p><p>"Herman, we talked about this didn't we?" Spider-man crossed his arms as he stared the Shocker down, confidence and swagger oozing off his aura. </p><p>Ashryn could only stare at the two in wonder, she held her own against the Shocker for a few minutes. But Spider-man looked so powerful in the moment, like he could just toy around with the Shocker.</p><p>And he could, but he decided to end it before further damage to the bank. He sprang forward at the same time the Shocker broke free of his bonds.</p><p>In an instant, the web-slinger brought forth one hell of a kick to the villain's gauntlets.</p><p>Crack.</p><p>The Shocker huffed in frustration before he used his other arm to try and hit Spider-man. But to no avail as Spidey leaped backward, landing right behind Herman. </p><p>With the hero's immense fight IQ, he kicked the Shocker's gauntlet, it collided with the cracked gauntlet and broke it apart.</p><p>"No..." The Shocker grunted softly, he turned back around and in desperation, tried another punch.</p><p>"Not today." The webhead muttered before punching the gauntlet right in the sweet spot, the wrist. The vibro shocks didn't trigger as the Shocker reeled sidewards. </p><p>A web shot from Spider-man's web shooters, connecting with the gauntlet. And another from the other hand latched itself to a wall, he pulled and sprung himself towards the Shocker, landing a lightning fast flying kick and disarming him of the other gauntlet. </p><p>And just like that, the police came rushing in the scene. </p><p>Spider-man stood over the Shocker, triumphantly. He watched as the villain was cuffed and finally sent to the confines of a police van.</p><p>Ashryn looked on in amazement, still trapped in the bed of webs earlier. She pulled out all the remaining strength in her body, barely managing to slip out of the webs. </p><p>Spidey's head perked up, he looked over at where he had left Ashryn out to hang, to his relief the female still had a little more spring in her step.</p><p>Ashryn rolled onto her feet, wincing softly as the bruises on her back connected with the ground for a moment. </p><p>The webhead walked over to the girl, whom he surprisingly towered over. "Hey, you did good back there," the male approached.</p><p>"Good? I got my ass kicked," Ashryn shook her head and looked up at him.</p><p>"If you hadn't bought me time, the bank would be in smithereens and Herman would've gotten away." The slinger replied and added a small pat to her head.</p><p>"Well, I'm glad to be of help." Ashryn smiled, letting out a soft sigh. One of exhaustion. "But for now, I think I should leave." She nodded.</p><p>"Can I at least know what to call you if we ever meet again?" Spider-man tilted his head.</p><p>"The Daily Bugle'll of something." Ashryn turned on her heels as she went towards the hole in the wall, "And don't expect me to be your sidekick, this was just a one-off thing."</p><p>"So, you being here was all just a coincidence?" Spidey tilted his head.</p><p>"I don't want any consequences, I'm just trying to fit into the city." Ashryn sighed, "I don't owe this city anything, the adrenaline just messed with my head." She shook her head.</p><p>"Can I get an actual na-" The male was cut short by the female suddenly just disappearing into the shadows. "Well alright then."</p><p>-----</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Aftermath.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ashryn sighed in relief, her house was just a stone throw away. She had enough energy to revert back to her more appealing look. Appealing meaning kids wouldn't scream when she merely just walked beside them.</p>
<p>The train back to Forest Hills had been extremely hectic, especially with everyone wanting to leave Lower Manhattan, after the situation with the Shocker. </p>
<p>One more more agonizing walk through Kew Gardens and she would be on her way home.</p>
<p>Normally she'd take a taxi but her constant wincing from the bruises on her back would definitely cause suspicion. So she just had to live with it for now.</p>
<p>The girl's mood worsened further, remembering her photojournalism internship in The Daily Bugle was to start the next day.</p>
<p>She groaned internally at the thought of having to pretend the bruises weren't there for a whole day.</p>
<p>Ashryn had went to the bank since she was low on cash. And the female wouldn't use her credit card on anything other than hospital bills. She was pretty well off, her father and mother once resided on New Asgard and had quite a collection of treasures, not memories, literal gold chests, and it translated to a fortune, not one like Tony Stark of course, but it set her up for life. Her mother was quite the warrior dark elf, and her father was a hell of a charmer.</p>
<p>While the small flashback on her life was happening, she'd autopiloted herself to Forest Hills. </p>
<p>She sighed in relief, right turn to Ascan Avenue and another right to Ingram Street led her to her house. A neat two storey, suburban looking home. </p>
<p>She was neighbour to a really kind older woman named May Parker. She lived with her nephew, whom she'd forgotten the name of, she moved in a year ago when the last owners moved out a month before. She'd catch the nephew staring at the house sometimes in the mornings, maybe he had some kind of memories with the owner before her.</p>
<p>Ashryn greeted the older woman, who was out gardening. </p>
<p>May looked up at Ashryn, giving her the usual sweet smile that always brightened the young woman's day. "Good evening to you too, Ash. Have you seen Peter? I made him go to the Federal Reserve Bank earlier."</p>
<p>The girl's smile soon dropped at the mention of the bank, "The bank was attacked by the Shocker." She muttered, the older woman's smile turned to a look of worry.</p>
<p>"But most of us got home to safety, Spider-man came just in time. And you know he always gets out of trouble safe." She added, not wanting to worry the older woman, she probably had enough stress to deal with.</p>
<p>"Oh, I sure hope so." May muttered.</p>
<p>"Don't worry about it, May." Ashryn smiled and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He probably just spaced out and got off the wrong stop." </p>
<p>"That is something he always does." The last statement made May chuckle.</p>
<p>"Don't stress about it, I'll talk to you later alright?" The young woman nodded at May before making her way into her house. </p>
<p>-----</p>
<p>Meanwhile in Downtown Manhattan...</p>
<p>Peter stared at the gaping hole the Shocker had made earlier, if only he had his guard up, he could've saved a couple more lives. He shook his head and slung his backpack over his shoulder.</p>
<p>He squatted down and looked at the rubble, then glanced over to the police captain that approached him. "Ms. Watanabe." He nodded.</p>
<p>"Spider-man." Yuriko nodded back at him, "The Shocker didn't cause that much damage, most can be replaced in about 2 months. But I'm afraid to inform you that 5 people died when he broke in. 10 others were hurt from the shockwaves." </p>
<p>Spider-man sighed softly and stood up straight, "Any word about the girl that helped me out earlier?" He asked.</p>
<p>"No, she's new. No records from any other events." Yuriko shook her head.</p>
<p>"Thought so," Spidey limbered up as he walked out of the hole, "Gonna have to do a little digging myself then."</p>
<p>"Wait, where are you going?" Yuriko furrowed her brows at the hero.</p>
<p>"Home, it's been a bad day today." Peter grunted out the last word as he stretched his back, and then shot out a web, swinging away like only he could.</p>
<p>"That's what you always say." Yuriko sighed softly and turned to the crime scene.</p>
<p>The male swung across downtown Manhattan with fresh memories carved into his head. He had barely been able to save the day, he took to long to go to the bathroom and change into his suit, he took to long to defeat the Shocker and now people were hurt. He placed the blame all on himself, he knew he shouldn't but it just felt like his fault, his responsibility.</p>
<p>He was thankful for the appearance of the girl, it gave him just enough time to suit up. But he felt horrible that the girl got hurt because he was so slow. </p>
<p>Peter sighed in frustration, dropping down to the all familiar back alley, 'The changing alley' he called it. And as the titled suggested, he changed back to his clothes. And stuffed his suit in the backpack, taking a quick glance at the shots he had taken, one of Shocker, one of the girl, and one of Spider-man webbing the Shocker, which he managed to time perfectly. </p>
<p>"Well, at least Jonah's going to be happy with these." He muttered before stuffing it back in the backpack and walking out of the alley.</p>
<p>Peter proceeded to head back to Forest Hills, hopefully May wasn't too worried.</p>
<p>He arrived in Ingram Street just before 8 O'clock struck, he stopped in his tracks and turned to the house right next door. Mary Jane had moved out a year ago, choosing to move to Upper Manhattan to pursue her theatre and acting dreams, and a new owner moved in. He forgot what her name was, considering he rarely talks to her, but she would greet his Aunt May almost every day, making small talk and all that. She seemed like a nice person, and to top it all off, she was one hell of a looker.</p>
<p>He snapped out of his trance, he probably looked extremely creepy just staring at the house like that. The male facepalmed and walked inside his house. "Hey, Aunt May. Our credits are fin-"</p>
<p>"Oh, Peter, I was so worried." Aunt May quickly wrapped him in a tight hug, "Ash told me the bank was attacked."</p>
<p>Peter gave a few awkward pats on his Aunt's back before she let go. "Yeah, the Shocker gave us quite a... shock." He muttered the last word out, realizing how stupid it sounded.</p>
<p>"Oh, you must be hungry. I made meatloaf, come on." May quickly ushered Peter into the dining room.</p>
<p>Peter could do nothing but follow May's orders. Though he was actually pretty hungry.</p>
<p>Peter ended up finishing the whole meatloaf that night, much to Aunt May's delight.</p>
<p>-----<br/>The Next Morning...</p>
<p>Ashryn barely had any time to fit in breakfast to her schedule, seeing as she spent all night watching the Lord of The Rings trilogy, she woke up at 8:00 and she had to take the train and then make it up the Daily Bugle's building. Which she did, at the expense of constant wincing since she forgot to put ointment on her back yesterday.</p>
<p>She finally made it up, and was greeted by, absolutely no-one. She shrugged and walked across the mass of writers and editors, finally making her way to J. Jonah Jameson's office, she noticed one of the photographers and a few writers in the office, but was quickly told by the secretary to just barge in. She shrugged and did as told</p>
<p>"We have to think of a name for the new- Ah, there's the intern we hired, just on cue, quick, give me a name for the new girl in town." Jonah looked at Ashryn.</p>
<p>"Uh... Night Elf?" Ashryn shrugged.</p>
<p>"It's dark... mysterious... I like it!" Jonah smiled and pointed at the picture on the whiteboard, "The Night Elf, saving the day when Spider-man can't!" </p>
<p>"Parker, this is Ashryn Larell. She's going to be your intern, she's just what we need. Fresh blood and new ideas." Jonah continued, blatantly ignoring the other writers.</p>
<p>Parker? That sounded familiar to the girl.</p>
<p>Peter furrowed his brows, but just nodded and turned to look at the girl. He raised his brows in surprise.</p>
<p>Ashryn pursed her lips and realized just who her superior was. "Well, this is awkward."</p>
<p>------</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Not-So-First Impressions.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Well, this is awkward." Ashryn muttered softly and gave Peter a tiny wave.</p>
<p>"Why? What's awkward?" Jonah butted in, his signature scowl making another appearance.</p>
<p>"W-we're neighbours." Peter scratched his nape.</p>
<p>"Neighbours?" Jonah furrowed his brows, and then all of a sudden clapped his hands. "That's great, now you can train her even when I'm not paying you!" </p>
<p>Peter cocked his head to the side, giving Jonah a confused look. But he knew better than to argue with him, it's J. Jonah Jameson. What can you do?</p>
<p>"Yes, boss." The younger male nodded.</p>
<p>"Well, then what are you still doing here?" Jonah softly pounded his fist on his desk, "Go out there and find something that I can use for a headline!"</p>
<p>Ashryn just stood behind Peter, she pursed her lips softly, watching on the conversation. Was this normal for them? This definitely seemed like something she couldn't put up with.</p>
<p>"Right away, boss." The young man nodded and quickly left the office, Ashryn following not long after.</p>
<p>"So, is he always like this?" Ashryn tried to start a conversation.</p>
<p>"Yeah, but he's really appreciative when you do something good." Peter looked down at Ashryn. The male never realized how small the woman really was, he could probably fit her in his bag and have room for his suit.</p>
<p>"Well how did he react to those shots you got yesterday?" Ashryn asked.</p>
<p>"Half a grand bonus, considering no-one else got pictures of the Night Elf," Peter smiled proudly and with a press of a button, the elevator opened up.</p>
<p>"You should thank your Aunt May for that, then." Ashryn walked in the elevator.</p>
<p>"Believe me, I did." Peter stood beside Ashryn and pressed the ground button, the elevator doors soon closed and they started their descent.</p>
<p>"So, where to?" Ashryn tilted her head.</p>
<p>"I'm just waiting for a call." Peter vaguely answered, he pulled out his quite outdated smartphone. It wasn't a brick by any means, but compared to the ones developed by Stark Industries. They might as well have been.</p>
<p>Ashryn raised a brow at the male's phone, he could afford the highest quality of cameras. But not a phone that had more than four gigabytes of RAM. "A call? From whom exactly?" She looked up at him.</p>
<p>"Uh, n-nobody." Peter mummered, he was so used to being alone in his job that he forgot being friends with superheroes was something he was meant to hide. "I mean, I-I heard the Fantastic Four were coming back from their space odyssey today, we should wait somewhere near the Baxter Building."</p>
<p>"Oh, alright then." Ashryn nodded awkwardly, "And how exactly do you know that?"</p>
<p>"I don't- I mean, I just heard." The male stammered, and right as he was about to swallow his words, his phone rang. He internally sighed and then picked up the call.</p>
<p>"Peter! How's my web-slinging partner in crime doing?" The confident, charismatic and always charming voice of Johnny Storm greeted Peter.</p>
<p>Ashryn furrowed her brows and crossed her arms. Fortunately for Peter, his phone wasn't on speaker, so she couldn't hear who was on the other line. </p>
<p>"Hey, I'm kind of busy right now with-"</p>
<p>"Peter, Peter, Peter. C'mon, y'know that boss of yours would love to see shots of me landing down Central Park." Johnny cut Peter off.</p>
<p>"No, I have an intern with me and I need-"</p>
<p>"Ah, so you want me to hide the fact that you're Spider-man." Johnny cut him off again.</p>
<p>"Yes." Peter sighed out, "And just, don't attract too much attention." He whispered, making sure the girl right beside him couldn't hear it. He hung up and quickly stuffed his phone inside his pocket. A short and quick call, just like how Johnny liked his... everything</p>
<p>"That wasn't at all suspicious." Ashryn muttered before looking up at Peter.</p>
<p>Before the boy could reply, a ding reverberated around the elevator. The doors soon opened and revealed the busy ground floor.</p>
<p>"Let's see if anything's happening in Central Park." Peter nodded and stepped out of the elevator.</p>
<p>"I don't think you'll find anything interesting in a park." The girl followed behind him, "But since I know you've been giving headline worthy pictures for as long as I can remember. Then, lead the way." She smiled up at him.</p>
<p>Peter let out a small chuckle and looked back at her. "We'll be near the borders, where we can see the Baxter Building."</p>
<p>-----<br/>Central Park...</p>
<p>Ashryn sat on a bench, as she looked through the lenses of her camera. </p>
<p>It turns out the 'Charles Xavier's School For Gifted Children' were hosting a small trip for their students to have fun, complete with the X-men.</p>
<p>The girl had to admit, her superior's intuition was something else. "So, when you said let's go to Central Park, were you thinking of this?"</p>
<p>"Not at all." Peter scratched his nape and chuckled softly.</p>
<p>"Well, fate has a way of bringing brilliant people together." A familiar, experienced and soft spoken tone of the one and only Charles Xavier came up behind them.</p>
<p>Peter smiled, "Mr. Xavier." He chuckled softly and turned to shake Charles' hand</p>
<p>Ashryn's eyes widened as she turned around. "Oh my god," She breathily muttered, quickly concealing herself behind her superior.</p>
<p>"Peter Parker, it's so pleasant to see you again," Charles smiled up at him.</p>
<p>"Likewise, Professor Xavier." Peter nodded.</p>
<p>"Wait, give me a minute here." Ashryn butted in and pointed at Peter, "You. You're friends with Charles Xavier?"</p>
<p>"Of course, Ms. Larell." Charles nodded, "Peter here used to be a brilliant scientist."</p>
<p>"Scientist?" Ashryn furrowed her brows.</p>
<p>"Yes, and he had quite a knack for it, if I say so my-"</p>
<p>"Professor, with all due respect. I wasn't all that good." Peter shook his head.</p>
<p>"Peter, you worked with Reed Richards and Tony Stark. Worked with, not for." Charles nodded, "You were a great scientist." </p>
<p>"I was, but I don't compare-"</p>
<p>"Peter, don't bring yourself down." Charles shook his head, "For now, I'm afraid I must go, this place will be crowded soon." </p>
<p>Peter smiled at Charles, "Thank you, Professor." </p>
<p>Charles nodded at Peter one last time before strolling back to the group of children. "Off we go children."</p>
<p>Peter just stood by and watched as the children and the X-men walked off the area. A certain redhead talked to the Professor. She turned around, looked at Peter and smiled. </p>
<p>"Jean." Peter smiled back at the girl, waving cheerfully. </p>
<p>Ashryn could do nothing but simply watch in awe. The male was an excellent photographer, he was friends with Charles Xavier, and he had worked with the two greatest minds in the world. Who exactly was Peter Parker?</p>
<p>All she knew, was that he was simply amazing.</p>
<p>-----</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Flame On.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He was amazing.</p>
<p>And he was definitely not the awkward and shy boy that May had told her about.</p>
<p>Though he stammered, tripped and stuttered, inside was a brilliant man, with gifts only people could dream of.</p>
<p>And now by sheer coincidence, she had ended up being his trainee.</p>
<p>"Who exactly are you?" The girl asked.</p>
<p>Peter turned to look at Ashryn. He sighed softly and shook his head, "I'm no-one special, I'm just Peter Parker."</p>
<p>"Well, I'd say Peter Parker is quite special." Ashryn shot back at him, which Peter replied with the human equivalent of turtles caving in their shells, he turned away. Though a small blush could be seen forming on the male's cheek.</p>
<p>"I-I'd say everyone's special." Peter muttered, it was something he believed in, that everyone had a gift and they could use it to help the world. He knew it sounded cheesy but, it was something true to his experiences. </p>
<p>"Well, it sounds cheesy." Ashryn gently nudged him, though she made sure only her clothes made contact with him.</p>
<p>"I know it's just, it's something I've seen althroughout my life." Peter shrugged, "Life's cheesy, and sometimes you might just need a little cheese to cheer you up."</p>
<p>"Aw, Peter." Ashryn smiled up at him, "That's cheddar-able."</p>
<p>Peter burst out into a small giggle fit at the perfectly placed horrible pun. "Oh my god, that was terrible." He laughed out, and just as their fun began to dry out, the male's phone rang.</p>
<p>"Better answer that." Ashryn chuckled softly.</p>
<p>The male smiled and quickly picked up the call, "Hello?"</p>
<p>"Cameras up, Peter."</p>
<p>And just on cue, something seemed to slowly descend from the sky. It was the size of a small bus. And as it came into viewing distance, a large '4' could be seen from the sides. It was the Fantastic Four's spacecraft.</p>
<p>Peter, as told, put his cameras up. "Johnny, you're a lifesaver." He muttered to himself. </p>
<p>"You're welcome, now, tell me where you are." Johnny asked, eager to see his best friend again.</p>
<p>"We're near the river in central park." Peter quickly answered, taking shots of the spacecraft landing on the Baxter Building's helipad, which never actually housed a helicopter.</p>
<p>"You ready to see a landing for the headlines?" The male could almost see Johnny's arrogant smirk by just hearing the tone in his voice.</p>
<p>"Just don't burn the park down." Peter chuckled softly and prepared for Johnny to take off.</p>
<p>"Don't burn the what now?" Ashryn cocked her head to the side, quite confused as to what kind of conversation Peter was having.</p>
<p>Peter could do nothing but smile and point his camera up to the Baxter Building.</p>
<p>Then, just as promised, a ball of flame flew off the spacecraft, it shot up to the sky and turned to the right, then a turn diagonally left, back down, and looped around. The logo, the Fantastic Four were back in New York.</p>
<p>Then, as the logo disappeared. The fireball made a beeline to Central Park.</p>
<p>"Oh hey, he's heading this way." Ashryn muttered.</p>
<p>"Yep." Peter nodded, taking a few snaps.</p>
<p>"He's getting closer." The female tilted her head.</p>
<p>"Yep." The male repeated.</p>
<p>"He's getting really clo- Oh my god!" Ashryn exclaimed, reeling back from the impact of the Human Torch landing down the park in reckless fashion.</p>
<p>Peter was barely fazed, at this point he was so used to Johnny's over-the-top entrances. He just snapped a photo, making sure to catch his friend in his favourite angle. </p>
<p>Johnny's flames died out in a heartbeat. He turned to look at a certain web-slinging young man and flashed him his signature smile. "Did you get my good side?" </p>
<p>"Any side is a good side for you, Johnny." Peter chuckled softly and walked up to the Human Torch. </p>
<p>"How's the photography going, Peter?" Johnny asked, their knuckles gently colliding into a fistbump.</p>
<p>"It pays the bills quite well, so I'm sticking with it." Peter chuckled softly, "How was the space odyssey?"</p>
<p>"Frustrating, I had nothing to entertain me other than messing with Ben." Johnny shook his head, "It's so unfair, Reed has my sister to mess around with and Frankie is too busy helping out the damn Guardians of the Galaxy."</p>
<p>"Johnny, you're angry just because you didn't have a booty call?" Peter raised a brow at him, he couldn't believe the other male.</p>
<p>"No, I'm pissed because I haven't gotten any booty." Johnny grunted in frustration.</p>
<p>Ashryn just stood behind Peter like a deer in the headlights. She was in the presence of the X-men just earlier and now she had just found out her superior was friends- no, best friends with the  and only Johnny Storm. And they're were talking about hook-ups, who the hell exactly was her superior, why and how did he become acquainted with people who she could only have dreamt of meeting?</p>
<p>"I mean, you can get just about any girl in the planet, Johnny." Peter furrowed his brows, "Can't you just-"</p>
<p>"Oh lordy." Johnny's eyebrows rose up as he spotted a certain young damsel behind Peter, "Having dates on the job now, Peter?"</p>
<p>Ashryn furrowed her brows at Johnny, she took a small step back as Johnny stepped forward.</p>
<p>"Mind introducing me, Peter?" The cocky male turned to his best friend.</p>
<p>"Johnny, she's not a date-"</p>
<p>"Woah, woah, you don't have to be so defensive about this. Surely she has a friend as hot as her right?" Johnny cut Peter off.</p>
<p>Ashryn gave the male a confused look.</p>
<p>"Johnny, she's not a date, for crying out loud." Peter shook his head erratically.</p>
<p>"Then what is she exactly?" Johnny turned to look at Peter.</p>
<p>"Were you even listening earlier?" The male sighed softly as he facepalmed. He looked at Johnny in annoyance.</p>
<p>"Tell me, Peter." Johnny said dryly.</p>
<p>Peter chuckled out of hysteria and gave the female an apologetic look, "She's my intern, Johnny."</p>
<p>Johnny blinked, taking a moment to realize what the male just said. It hit him like a truck as he turned to Ashryn, then back to his friend. </p>
<p>"Oh."</p>
<p>-----</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Four Spotlights.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Oh."</p>
<p>Johnny's face went dead serious before turning to look at his friend. "Peter, you're bagging that."</p>
<p>Peter sighed in frustration before facepalming, "Johnny, she's my intern." He repeated.</p>
<p>"You're all aware that I'm here, right?" Ashryn looked at the two, in slight discomfort. </p>
<p>The two men looked over at Ashryn, they shrugged their shoulders and placed their hands in their pockets.</p>
<p>"I'm sure you've all heard, but talking about someone in front of them is quite rude." The female crossed her arms, giving them a stern look.</p>
<p>"Sorry, sorry." Peter spoke up first, "It's just... you're my intern and Johnny's a jerk." </p>
<p>The other male smirked upon the mention of him being a jerk, he reveled being the douchebag. He thought it made him cooler.</p>
<p>"And." Peter glanced at Johnny angrily before continuing, "We still have a job to get to."</p>
<p>"I mean, I'm sure Jonah will be satisfied with us taking pictures of the Four's spacecraft landing and J9hnny Storm up close." Ashryn nodded, "So I think having a break won't hurt that much."</p>
<p>Johnny's smile brightened further upon hearing the female. He placed an arm around Peter and chuckled, "You see, being a jerk has its benefits." He sloppily whispered.</p>
<p>Ashryn happened to hear Johnny's little arrogant whisper, she narrowed her eyes at him. "We're not taking a break to hang out with you. We're taking a break to actually get lunch, you just happen to be a friend of Peter's who's tagging along." She spoke with pride before turning on her heel.</p>
<p>Johnny was left dumbfounded by the girl's words. He let out a chuckle of spite and looked at Peter, "Never have I been so turned on."</p>
<p>Peter groaned before removing Johnny's hand on his shoulder. "Johnny, you're disgusting."</p>
<p>The fiery male smirked before shaking his head. "And that's why you love me."</p>
<p>-----<br/>A random pizzeria in Downtown New York...</p>
<p>The press was too busy trying to snag a picture of Reed Richards leaving the Baxter Building than getting pictures of Johnny Storm and two random photographers.</p>
<p>Johnny would've been thankful, but that wasn't how he rolled. So he made a rude entrance into a random pizzeria. Which caused quite a stir with the crowd.</p>
<p>Ashryn and Peter were basically just chaperones, they just helped the masses have their picture with Johnnh, they couldn't refuse, it would've been rude.</p>
<p>After what seemed like an endless slew of selfies, the trio finally got their  order. A large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese and for Johnny. And a regular mushroom and pepperoni pizza with a thin crust that Ashryn and Peter agreed to share. And a very excessive amount of fries, and a large bowl of gravy for Ashryn to dip them in. </p>
<p>"Why gravy anyway?" Johnny broke the silence, looking at Ashryn as she dipped a fry in the brown liquid.</p>
<p>"Because gravy." Ashryn replied dryly and took a bite.</p>
<p>"I mean, yeah. Gravy is good, but I think it's more for biscuits and fried chicken." Peter shrugged and took a large bite on a slice of mushroom and pepperoni pizza.</p>
<p>"Gravy is for anything, Peter." Ashryn shook her head and took a bite of a slice herself.</p>
<p>"Well, replace gravy with cheese and we've got ourselves a winner." Johnny chuckled softly, already having finished two large slices.</p>
<p>Peter cringed as he looked at how Johnny ate his pizza, he would take continuous bites until his mouth was full. "How can you eat that much?"</p>
<p>"Um...de...yuman...towch." ("I'm the human torch.") Johnny spoke with his mouth full. He took one big gulp and chuckled, "I burn calories quite easily."</p>
<p>"Of course you do." Ashryn facepalmed at Johnny. "Please don't speak with your mouth full."</p>
<p>"Try me." Johnny smiled mischievously and ate yet another slice.</p>
<p>And as Ashryn's annoyance grew to its peak. A certain large stoney man entered the pizzeria. </p>
<p>"Johnny, Reed's been looking everywhere for you." Ben Grimm, the Thing called out to Johnny.</p>
<p>"Ah, to hell with Reed. Can't you see I'm hanging out with Peter over here?" Johnny let out a sigh and gestured to Peter.</p>
<p>"Peter? As in Peter Parker? The sp-" Ben held his tongue as he noticed the presence of a young woman, with a camera strapped to her shoulder beside Peter. And also Peter's eyes being widened to saucers. "...Spider-man photographer?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, Peter, y'know? He gets great pictures." Johnny said in a monotone, practiced manner.</p>
<p>"Peter, what's up?" Ben approached the trio, "How's the photography?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, it's going great." Peter smiled at Ben, "I got pictures of the Shocker and Spider-man from last night, it was great." </p>
<p>"And what about that new girl... what's her mantra?" Johnny tilted his head.</p>
<p>"Jonah agreed on calling her The Night Elf." Peter nodded and gestured to Ashryn, "A name which my intern here, Ashryn, came up with."</p>
<p>"Ah, dark... and mysterious, I like it." Johnny smiled, his sultry tone not at all helping with him hiding the fact that he found the new hero alluring. </p>
<p>"That's what Jonah said, only with more, screaming." Ashryn chuckled softly.</p>
<p>Then all of a sudden, a stretchy man and a light refracting woman entered the premises, looking annoyed as ever.</p>
<p>"Ben, what the hell are you doing there, we've got work to get to-" Reed Richards looked at who Johnny was with and stopped short.</p>
<p>"Oh hey, it's Peter." Susan Storm flashed her ever bright smile as she walked up to the bunch. </p>
<p>Peter closed his eyes and facepalmed for a moment. How was he going to keep his secret safe if every hero he knew just kept randomly popping up? "Hey guys." He gave the couple a small wave.</p>
<p>-----<br/>About an hour later...</p>
<p>One would think finding out that their superior was friends with the Fantastic Four would be very surprising.</p>
<p>But after everything that's happened in the afternoon, Ashryn wasn't even fazed that Peter knew. </p>
<p>But what did surprise her was that Peter did indeed work with Reed Richards. Considering they spoke about all mystical, science-y, complex jazz.</p>
<p>And now as Ashryn looked up at Peter waving goodbye to the Four, she couldn't help but wonder.</p>
<p>"How did you meet the Four?" Ashryn asked out of the blue.</p>
<p>Peter flinched at the mention of the question, he groaned internally and looked at Ashryn. "Uh..." he scratched his nape, "Dr. Doom was rampaging around the city, and I got caught in the crossfire." He tried thinking of a way to twist his story into something believable.</p>
<p>"Uh-huh." Ashryn crossed her arms.</p>
<p>"I basically just salvaged the remains of my camera and turned it into a coil that could bounce Dr. Doom's electric volts on the fly. It helped Reed incapacitate Victor, and after that he asked for my name and let me work for him in his 2-man projects every now and then." Peter finished his story and shrugged, the male had a habit of shrugging upon ending his paraphrases. </p>
<p>"So, what Professor Xavier was true then." Ashryn chuckled softly.</p>
<p>"Ashryn, Professor Xavier is always right." Peter shook his head.</p>
<p>-----</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. After The Carnage.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A soft sigh came out of the girl's lips as she rested her bottom on one of the train seats. She smiled brightly up at Peter, who had her take the seat. She refused at first, but decided to follow up on his offer because he was probably stressed enough after what happened on the day.</p>
<p>Peter smiled back at the alluring female, the feeling of heat appeared in his cheeks signalled him to turn away, the shy gesture earned a small giggle from Ashryn.</p>
<p>Ashryn leaned back on her seat, satisfied with how she helped Peter, even if she did kind of blow him off with the lunch thing. Peter looked too flustered then, he needed the break.</p>
<p>Peter watched as the girl gave a look of content to the air. He looked at his cameras again and chuckled, the pictures of the spacecraft and Johnny's logo were enough to make Jonah happy, thankfully. And the shot of the Fantastic Four in the pizzeria didn't hurt at all.</p>
<p>It was an exciting day for the both of them, they hoped for another one. But this time less... surprising.</p>
<p>The train made its stop to Kew Gardens, signalling the passengers with a large ding followed by the doors opening.</p>
<p>Ashryn sprang up and waltzed her way out the doors with Peter right behind her.</p>
<p>An awkward, joyful silence came after. All the duo could do was smile at each other, the female wasn't one for small talk with someone his age and the web slinging boy was extremely awkward when alone with a female.</p>
<p>But, Peter went against his mind's wishes as he looked at Ashryn yet again, "So, heck of a day." He spoke cheerfully, breaking the silence. </p>
<p>"Yeah, I'd say that was a good first day." Ashryn nodded up at the male.</p>
<p>"Please, you're only saying that because you met the Fantastic Four." Peter shook his head playfully.</p>
<p>"No, I'm saying that because I can't believe how amazing my superior is." Ashryn fired back at Peter.</p>
<p>"Stop." Peter chuckled softly as a small blush tinted his cheeks.</p>
<p>"Well, you started it." Ashryn pointed at Peter.</p>
<p>"What are you, twelve?" Peter quipped.</p>
<p>"No, but you are." Ashryn shot at him, "You should drop that skincare of yours."</p>
<p>"I don't look that young, Ashryn." The male furrowed his brows at her.</p>
<p>"You look 15, Peter." Ashryn chuckled softly as she looked back at him.</p>
<p>"I don't feel 15."</p>
<p>The friendly banter and skincare conversation continued on until they reached Forest Hills, they took their usual turns and found their ways in front of their houses.</p>
<p>A small hysterical chuckle came out of Peter unexpected as he sensed the awkward tension of realizing he had just walked a girl home. </p>
<p>Ashryn gazed up at Peter, upon hearing his chuckle. Could he sense the awkward tension as she had? She couldn't help but connect with the male as his lovely Aunt May opened the door.</p>
<p>"Oh, Peter, you're home just in time." May said cheerfully.</p>
<p>"Aunt May, you know the intern I told you about yesterday?" Peter asked out of the blue.</p>
<p>"Oh, if they're rude, don't worry about it. You just have to assert yourself about your authority over them." May replied, figuring the male probably didn't have the self-confidence to assert dominance.</p>
<p>"No, Aunt May, she was really... really nice actually." Peter smiled, looking at the ground, quite flustered. Ashryn was hiding right behind Peter.</p>
<p>"Oh, that's great! What's her name so I can invite her over?" May gleamed with joy.</p>
<p>"That's actually the thing I was going to tell you about." Peter muttered while stepping to the side to show the young female, "Ta-da." He dryly spoke.</p>
<p>Aunt May looked at Ashryn with an expression of confusion. It took a few seconds for her to click and finally figure out what Peter said earlier.</p>
<p>"Hi, Aunt May." Ashryn beamed gleefully, giving the older woman a small wave.</p>
<p>"Oh, oh my god! You're Peter's intern?!" May almost exclaimed in happiness as she wrapped Ashryn into a hug.</p>
<p>"Yep." Ashryn chuckled softly as she gently hugged May back.</p>
<p>"Oh, I just finished making meatloaf, won't you come over and eat with us?" The older woman offered kindly.</p>
<p>"Aunt May, I don't thi-" </p>
<p>"Peter, I can decide for myself." Ashryn cut the male off, "But, I do have to work on researching the Stark Expo upcoming next week. I can't just stand around behind Peter, I have to take shots of my own, y'know?"</p>
<p>The older woman gave Ashryn a caring but slightly disappointed smile, "I understand, but if you're ever short of food, you can come over for dinner alright?"</p>
<p>"I'll keep that in mind." Ashryn flashed her ever bright smile </p>
<p>The night went by in a flash after the day. They went by so fast in happy days and so slow in sad ones.</p>
<p>Ashryn didn't dream of that much in the night, she just had a meatloaf just circling around her in her dreamscape. The girl had indeed researched for photo-worthy spots in the upcoming Stark Expo. And for dinner? She just ate some instant noodles, those mildly expensive Japanese ones that were heaps better than the usual cheap American noodles. It filled her, but a good filling meatloaf would've made for a better dinner.</p>
<p>Peter finished Aunt May's meatloaf, the woman was starting to really get good at making those meatloaves. Though something in the night bugged him. His mind replayed his conversation with the Night Elf, and slowly transitioned smoothly into Ashryn's quotable lines. Almost too smoothly.</p>
<p>Peter found himself in a trance state, staring at Ashryn. She talked with the Night Elf's lines, almost seeming too natural, like she was actually...</p>
<p>All of a sudden, her usual innocent female form turned into a silhouette. Then, a transition into blue, as the Night Elf morphed into form right before him.</p>
<p>This caused a stir in the male's spidey-sense that jolted him awake. He woke with a gasp, involuntarily grabbing his chest.</p>
<p>"What the hell..." Peter panted out and stayed put in his bed. He looked at the clock that read 5:07 AM, then facepalmed. </p>
<p>"Parker luck..." the male shook his head and turned on his laptop, maybe he could fit in a rewatch of The Empire Strikes Back.</p>
<p>-----<br/>A couple hours later...</p>
<p>A loud blaring chime went off the alarm clock of Ashryn's room, leaving her awake, but disoriented.</p>
<p>The busy bee stayed up until the devil's hour to make sure she was fully prepared to capture the spectacle of the Stark Expo.</p>
<p>She grumbled softly and sat up from her bed as she looked at herself in the mirror, her real self. Dark blue skin, red eyes and all.</p>
<p>The girl stared at the mirror for a quick few seconds, hearing her own self deprecating thoughts as she pulled away from the glass' ever judging gaze.</p>
<p>She shook her head erratically and rumbled up her hair, feeling a buzz on her skin. Her fairy magic did its work and her complexion went vanilla white in a flash. Red orbs turned into blue ones as she looked up at herself in the mirror again.</p>
<p>She was insecure about herself, knowing that if she ever showed her real appearance. S.H.I.E.L.D. would probably swoop in and cast her as some kind of superheroine. </p>
<p>She just wanted a real life to spend, not one mopping up crime and holding themselves responsible for protecting the innocent. She wasn't a hero, she was only there for herself because she's got nobody else. Grandparents are dead, parents dead, no relatives. No cousins, it was all dreadful nothing.</p>
<p>Ashryn sighed loudly, her inner monologuing was taking effect again. The girl shook all the inherent self destructive thoughts from her system all away as she went to take a nice, relaxing bath.</p>
<p>-----<br/>About an hour later...</p>
<p>Peter was staring again, wasn't he?</p>
<p>He was.</p>
<p>The male facepalmed at himself as he stood on the foot of Ashryn house, he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in a week. Mostly because of him rewatching Star Wars, but what was important was that he hadn't slept well.</p>
<p>He now just stared blankly at the ground and waited for Ashryn to finally be ready.</p>
<p>After what seemed like forever, even though it was only a few minutes, the door opened, and out came Peter's charming intern, still as alluring as ever. She flashed her usual smile at Peter, "Sorry, I saw you from the window earlier, I should've hurried."</p>
<p>"N-no, Jonah doesn't really care if we're late or not." Peter shook his head, "What matters to him is if we get good shots."</p>
<p>"Well there's something at least." Ashryn shrugged and strapped her camera to her shoulders. "Let's?"</p>
<p>Peter cocked his head to the side in agreement, "Let's."</p>
<p>-----<br/>Lower Manhattan....</p>
<p>The train ride was a fair quiet one, though Peter was still confused as to why Ashryn never seemed to touch anyone. But he didn't want to be too nosy. He'd probably find out in time.</p>
<p>For now he'd have to deal with this one interesting predicament.</p>
<p>One all red, stringy, and symbiote-y rampaging downtown.</p>
<p>The look on the innocent intern's face said it all.</p>
<p>This was carnage.</p>
<p>"Get to the Daily Bugle, now!" Peter exclaimed, ushering Ashryn into the building and to the elevator, panic and thrill filling his lungs.</p>
<p>Once Ashryn was in the elevator, Peter stayed behind. "Be safe, I'll get those shots." </p>
<p>"Wait, Peter! No-" Ashryn couldn't finish her sentence, the male had already sped away. The female's breath hitched as she looked at the elevator doors.</p>
<p>Peter let out a sigh and ran into a nearby bathroom, and into a stall. </p>
<p>It was time for Peter Parker to be amazing.</p>
<p>-----</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Worrywart Intern</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This was bad, very bad. </p>
<p>The carnage killer was on the loose, and Peter was most likely in the crossfire.</p>
<p>Ashryn was near to biting her nails in anxiety, she thought it was only a cartoon construct, she thought wrong.</p>
<p>As the elevator doors flew open, they flew closed immediately as the others left. Ashryn stayed behind and waited as she made her descent.</p>
<p>-----<br/>Outside the Daily Bugle...</p>
<p>"Hey, Bloody Mary!" </p>
<p>A metal barricade struck through the pole of a traffic light, creating that irritating metal vibration that made Cletus Kasady's Carnage cringe.</p>
<p>A snarl came out the monstrous humanoid symbiote, looking up at the blue and red figure standing on top of the traffic light.</p>
<p>Carnage grumbled and threw a box of bagels that was on top of a cop car at Peter.</p>
<p>Spidey tilted his body to the side and webbed up the box and stuck it to the traffic light, "Sweet, breakfast." </p>
<p>"Breakfast." Carnage mumbled in his menacing, monstrous tone. He sprang up, creating a crater of sheer force.</p>
<p>"Nope, gonna need you to go on a hunger strike." Peter quipped, as confident as ever as he leaped backwards and stuck a web onto the traffic pole. The pendulum effect did it's work as he swung back up into the air, into Carnage's trajectory.</p>
<p>Carnage let out one of his high pitched screams, as he stuck out his claws, ready to have a quick Spider platter.</p>
<p>Peter shot a web to the side of a building and pulled himself sideways.</p>
<p>Carnage kept his eyes on Peter as he growled at him, "Coward!"</p>
<p>"Tactician, actually." The webhead shook his head and shot two webs downwards he sprang down.</p>
<p>Cletus couldn't turn quickly enough to intercept his foe and he found himself a victim of one of Spider-man's famous web spring kicks, which led him to eating the pavement.</p>
<p>Spider-man let out a sigh as he looked down and webbed up the red menace.</p>
<p>That was too easy.</p>
<p>Suspiciously easy.</p>
<p>And as Peter's thinking train derailed, he felt a slimy, strong hand grip his foot. The red terror threw him into a streetlight pole.</p>
<p>Carnage broke out of the webs with a little bit of struggle. He snarled once more and stared down the Spider-man before charging forward. </p>
<p>With quick thinking, Peter pulled the street pole out of the ground. "Batter up!" He grunted and swung at Carnage with full force, sending him crashing off into a police van in the middle of the road.</p>
<p>Then, from out of nowhere, a collection of hollow clangs and rings appeared as a bunch of metal poles were thrown into the fray.</p>
<p>Peter turned his head, a sigh of relief left his lungs, glad to get at least a little bit of help. "Night Elf." He muttered before picking up a pole, "You do know he's barely fazed by these now?"</p>
<p>"I know, but we don't really have anything to make fire, don't we?" The elf raised a brow.</p>
<p>"Not yet." A stern and confident male voice boomed from behind them. White, stringy and symbiote-y. </p>
<p>"Agent Anti-Venom." Peter smirked under his mask, "You look good."</p>
<p>"Spider, Night Elf." Flash Thompson, Agent Anti-Venom, nodded to them. </p>
<p>"Thank god it's not Deadpool." Ashryn shook her head.</p>
<p>"Thank god indeed." The agent chuckled and looked at Carnage, just about healed. "So, did he get any mutations yet?"</p>
<p>"None that I know of." Peter shook his head and held out his hand, promptly catching a small wad of C-4. "All the civilians are evacuated?"</p>
<p>"Evacuated and safe." The agent nodded and threw one over to the Night Elf.</p>
<p>"Oh, I hope to god, Peter's safe." Ashryn muttered to herself.</p>
<p>Spidey blinked for a second, catching what the elf just said. "Who's Peter?"</p>
<p>"Y'know, the guy that always gets your pictures." Ashryn shrugged at him, though her anxiety could be heard from miles away, "I was trying to find him earlier, he's a friend."</p>
<p>In a flash, almost like his brain just switched from confused to 'totally gets it'. Peter looked up at Flash, then at the Bugle. He put the pieces together, his dream. Her voice. Ashryn was the Night Elf.</p>
<p>Peter looked at Flash, who held his stoic demeanour but gave him a knowing look, that he knew he had just figured something out from the conversation.</p>
<p>"He's safe, he's a friend too... I have the detonators, just tell me when it's clear to blow." Anti Venom went back to what was important, the mission.</p>
<p>Ashryn and Peter nodded as they set their sights to the oncoming rampaging Carnage Killer, which growled at them.</p>
<p>"I don't suppose you have a hex to block his Spidey-sense." Peter tilted his head.</p>
<p>"Up the walls first." Ashryn nodded, Peter did as told and slung himself onto a wall.</p>
<p>An exasperated sigh came out of Ashryn's mouth as she did some stupid Scarlet Witch finger motions. As a very light blue mist appeared out of thin air. </p>
<p>Carnage roared closer in and pounced forward to catch Ashryn, but the girl rolled away in time. But not too much in time that she could avoid a very heavy backhand that came out of nowhere. </p>
<p>Ashryn groaned as her back crashed into a wall. Great, more bruises on the lady.</p>
<p>Carnage growled and turned to the injured maiden, his mouth parted, revealing his razor sharp teeth and abhorrent tongue.</p>
<p>Ashryn sighed through gritted teeth as she collected herself and stepped her foot forward, balling her fists. </p>
<p>Carnage roared and prepared to devour the elf, he pounced forward, only to be caught in a two different webs from behind and sent crashing backwards into a wall. Cletus' spidey-sense was nullified by the mist he so arrogantly went through.</p>
<p>Ashryn threw her C4 at the webhead, which the male webbed into the stunned Carnage, both the Agent and Spider-man webbed the red monster up in a black and white cocoon. </p>
<p>The web-slinger nodded at Flash, who detonated the bombs immediately, causing flame and ripples of force everywhere. </p>
<p>What was left was a bare, and helpless Cletus Kasady, unconscious.</p>
<p>And as the situation cleared. The police quickly made their way in the scene, which promptly caused the Night Elf to disappear into the shadows.</p>
<p>Peter gave the shadows a nod, knowing the girl was somewhere in there. He looked over at Flash and smiled. </p>
<p>Anti-Venom took off his symbiote cowl, he was safe to reveal his identity as an agent. The two walked to somewhere secluded.</p>
<p>"So, I'm guessing you know something about the Night Elf?" Flash crossed his arms.</p>
<p>"You mind turning off your transponders first?" Peter nodded.</p>
<p>"Alright, completely off, just us, Peter." Flash replied, doing as told.</p>
<p>"I know who the Night Elf is." The smaller male sighed.</p>
<p>"You do? Because she sounds like she doesn't know you." The agent retorted.</p>
<p>"Y'know I wear a mask to protect my loved ones." Peter crossed his arms.</p>
<p>"Oh, so you like her." Flash raised a brow.</p>
<p>"N-no! No, absolutely not." The webhead replied almost instantly, "I can't, she's my intern. And my neighbour, it'd be weird."</p>
<p>"Jesus." Flash sighed, "The Night Elf is your intern?"</p>
<p>"My spidey-sense says so." Peter nodded.</p>
<p>"Alright, let's keep this to us for now." The symbiotic soldier placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Do you trust her?"</p>
<p>"If she's a hero, then yes." The web-slinger sighed, "It's just... if she dies in here, I feel like that's on me."</p>
<p>Flash looked worriedly at Peter, his friend had always blamed everything wrong on himself. It was admirable, but it just pained him that he caused him more pain by being his past bully and then after dealing with that he had to save people on the regular. "Peter, you're a good man. You'll find a way, you always find a way. Just like how you made me regret hurting you, how you made me better. You'll know what to do in time."</p>
<p>Peter smiled under his mask, and pat the agent's shoulder. "You're killing it, Flash."</p>
<p>"You too, Peter."</p>
<p>And just like that, the Spider-man swung away.</p>
<p>-----<br/>In The Daily Bugle Lobby...</p>
<p>Ashryn nervously paced around the area, hoping what Agent Anti-Venom earlier was true.</p>
<p>Her best wishes came true as she saw the one and only Peter Parker with his backpack, walking into the building.</p>
<p>"Peter." Ashryn called out softly as she went to give her superior a hug. She focused on keeping her fairy magic still then she let go of the male. </p>
<p>Peter was dumbfounded as he was caught in the first girl hug he's had in a year. A small blush heated up the male's cheeks as he looked down at Ashryn. Night Elf, his conscience reminded him. He shook off the thoughts and just pulled out his camera. "I-I got the shots."</p>
<p>"Nevermind the fucking shots, Peter. Are you hurt?" Ashryn put his camera down.</p>
<p>"I'm fine, Ashryn." Peter smiled, "Are you?" </p>
<p>"Y-yeah, I was safe in here." Ashryn shrugged, "I couldn't just deny my superior's orders."</p>
<p>That was a smart alibi, Peter just decided to play along, but he'd take extra care in case her back was hurt.</p>
<p>Peter got his perfect shots as always, he said he went up to one of the buildings near where heroes were fighting in. The glass glare was there, so Ashryn just took it in stride.</p>
<p>Needless to say, they got a day off, with full pay because Jonah was a pretty good boss to good employees.</p>
<p>-----</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. An Awkward Upgrade.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The week went by like a breeze, considering the Daily Bugle cashed in on their insurance checks. Jonah was in a good mood and thus everyone else was in a good mood.</p><p>And with that good mood, Jonah signed the papers that allowed Peter and Ashryn to travel to Tokyo where the new Stark Expo would take place.</p><p>The duo were thrilled, they got their travel visas and their papers all ready. And they booked a flight in Stark Airlines, always trust a Stark when it comes to technology. They were accompanied with Business Class. Jonah thought he would pay the two for their hard work, especially since Peter risked his life to get those pictures of Carnage, or so he thought.</p><p>-----<br/>Stark Tower...</p><p>"Sir, you asked me if a 'Peter Parker' was booked in our airlines correct?" The robotic, yet charismatic voice of Jarvis rang through the great Anthony Edward Stark's lab.</p><p>"Yeah, the kid, how's he doing?" Tony looked up at the intercom like it was a real person.</p><p>"Well, sadly, he's not going to be at the Expo as one of our exhibitors but as a photographer working for the Daily Bugle with his intern." The A.I. informed Tony.</p><p>"He's still working for that company?" Tony furrowed his brows.</p><p>"Full time, now actually. Ever since Dr. Kurt Connors died he hasn't had a position in a lab firm." Jarvis replied.</p><p>"Damn." Tony looked down at the floor, saddened and disappointed at the state of his apprentice. "Seriously, this kid's kept up with me and Reed Richards at the same time, how is he not in a think tank? Anything?"</p><p>"I have no records of any involvement of him in any projects, but his Spider-man gear had improved leaps and bounds." The charismatic A.I. responded.</p><p>"Well, is his intern a girl?" Tony asked out of the blue.</p><p>"Yes, her name is Ashryn Larell." Jarvis quickly informed him.</p><p>"Ashryn... that sounds familiar... isn't that the girl who won the Pulitzer Prize?" Tony tapped on his forehead.</p><p>"Correct, sir. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography." </p><p>"Well, upgrade them to suite class." Tony shrugged, "Have they booked a hotel room?"</p><p>"Noted, sir. I'm guessing you're wanting to book them in The Peninsula Tokyo." Jarvis said in a sarcastic manner.</p><p>"Bingo, the suite next to mine, send him a letter from me, and then have a Royce pick them up." Tony nodded.</p><p>"Of course, sir. I'll have one of the stewardesses give them your letter."</p><p>"You're the best, Jarvis." </p><p>-----<br/>JFK International Airport...</p><p>Peter and Ashryn found themselves stuck in line in Stark Airline's section. They were preparing to check-in their bags and get their boarding passes.</p><p>A very long 10 minutes later, the two found themselves getting their bags checked. </p><p>Peter was watching in anxiousness as he hoped he didn't put anything that would violate the guidelines.</p><p>The staff gave the all good sign, and the check-in agent nodded. "Mr. Parker."</p><p>Peter's heart almost burst from his chest as he looked at the airline agent, "Yes?"</p><p>"Mr. Stark sends his regards." The agent smiled and handed him their boarding pass, two passes in suite class.</p><p>Peter furrowed his brows upon staring at the passes. "Aren't we supposed to only be in Business Class?"</p><p>"As I said, Mr. Stark sends his regards." The agent repeated.</p><p>Peter blinked twice and then glanced over at Ashryn.</p><p>Ashryn tilted her head at Peter, her innocent eyes showing worry.</p><p>Peter gave her a reassuring smile and handed over her boarding pass.</p><p>Ashryn looked at the boarding pass. "Huh..." she hummed softly, her eyes fixated on the 'Suite Class' text. She looked up at Peter, confused.</p><p>"No idea. Maybe Tony remembered me." Peter shrugged and slung his carry-on backpack over his shoulder.</p><p>Ashryn just took it in stride, she decided not to ask, thinking it was too nosey. What she was worried was that she'd be in close proximity with Peter for 16 hours. </p><p>-----</p><p>Two short but uncomfortable hours in the suite class lounge later, and they were on their way to board the plane.</p><p>"So, you did work with Tony Stark." Ashryn muttered out of the blue.</p><p>"Y-yeah... I was in his internship program back in high school." Peter nodded, gently scratching his nape.</p><p>"Uh-huh... is that all?" She looked up at her superior.</p><p>"I'd rather not talk about it." Peter nodded, giving their board passes to the stewardess.</p><p>"Right this way." The stewardess flashed them a practiced smile before leading them to their seats.</p><p>The duo got a look of the economy class, which looked like a business class. Which went on to business class that looked first. And first, wasn't first. For it was suite. </p><p>And it was sweet, Peter thought. </p><p>"Suite class, 1st room. You're free to order whatever you like on the menu. Mr. Stark gave us a heads up." The stewardess, Colbie as listed in her name tag, smiled at them, "Strap in and relax, we have quite a long flight today. You will be free to roam around after takeoff. And takeoff is in 10 minutes." </p><p>After that, Colbie left them to help out with the other passengers.</p><p>"So, this is suite class." Peter said softly, taking a seat on the bed.</p><p>"Sweet." Ashryn quipped, plopping down onto the other connected bed.</p><p>"Damn it, I was going to say that." Peter chuckled as he looked through the movie list. "No Star wars..." he muttered softly.</p><p>"Lord of the Rings?" Ashryn tilted her head.</p><p>"Hmm..." Peter looked through the list of movies on the controller tablet. "They have the trilogy."</p><p>"Neat, put it-"</p><p>All of a sudden, they hear the turbines start up. </p><p>"Strap in." Peter nodded as he went over to his chair, buckling his seatbelt.</p><p>Ashryn did as told, tilting her head as she looked at the small white envelope with Peter's butt marks on the bed. "Pete?"</p><p>"Yeah?" The male looked at her.</p><p>The blonde pointed at the letter on the bed, they were too entranced on the room to notice it.</p><p>"Crap." Peter reached out to grab the envelope, 'You Know Who I Am' was written on it. And indeed, Peter did know who sent it.</p><p>After a few minutes of eagerly waiting. The ding could be heard as a flight attendant's voice rang through the speakers. The duo paid it no mind, they were too busy opening up the envelope.</p><p>It was indeed a letter from Tony Stark, it had his snarky comment, the quips, the narcissism. But it turns out he had booked them a room in The Peninsula Tokyo. Their lodging worries were put to rest.</p><p>"You sure you were just Tony Stark's intern?" Ashryn looked up at Peter.</p><p>Peter shook his head erratically, "I wasn't anything special. He's just a nice guy."</p><p>"Tony Stark is anything but a nice guy." The girl crossed her arms.</p><p>"Who's a nice guy in the superhero world then?" The webhead asked.</p><p>"Spider-man." She retorted.</p><p>Peter went blank for a moment, "Fair enough." was all he could muster, he stroked his ego.</p><p>"Exactly," the intern crossed her arms in triumph. "Spider-man always wins."</p><p>"Well how about the Steve Rogers?" Peter asked, which made his intern freeze up. "He's patriotic."</p><p>"I wasn't born in America." Ashryn shrugged.</p><p>"You weren't?" The male furrowed his brows.</p><p>The female blinked for a second, she had tripped up on her words. "I-I-I was born in Norway, we immigrated here because my family wanted to start a business." She quick wittedly replied.</p><p>"So where's your family now?" The male couldn't help but ask, he noticed she was alone all the time and he wanted to find out why.</p><p>The question hit her like a truck. She looked at her superior with a blank expression. She felt her throat dry up, causing her to take a nervous gulp.</p><p>Peter's eyes widened in a split second as he just realized the mistake he had just made. "Oh my god... I-I... I am so sorry." He quickly stuttered out, covering his face in utter embarrassment.</p><p>The small jolt from the question faded away from Ashryn's mind. A quick head shake broke her from her grief trance, she laid a gloved hand on Peter's shoulder. "Hey, hey... you didn't know, alright?" The girl gave him a sad, but endearing smile.</p><p>The webhead didn't know if he was embarrassed or having a panic attack, but just seeing a peek of his intern's caring smile put his nerves at ease. Slowly, his hands fell to his lap. "Sorry." He repeated.</p><p>"Stop, you've apologized once every five minutes, I'm the one beginning to feel apologetic now." Ashryn made light of the situation.</p><p>"Sorry..." Peter repeated, then quickly put a hand on his mouth. "Sorry!"</p><p>Ashryn couldn't help but let out a giggle at the male's constant apologetic nature. He came off cool as a photographer and a superior, but he was one cute ball of dorkiness when it came to knowing him in reality. She found herself enjoying being with him more and more as every second ticked.</p><p>-----</p><p>A couple hours passed like a breeze. The duo found themselves nestled in their comforters, watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In separate comforters, of course. </p><p>Ashryn was fully invested in each character, she knew almost every name, every pronunciation and she probably even knew the names of the horses.</p><p>Peter just found himself confused on the names. He thought Aragorn was Legolas and Legolas was Thranduil. Legolas just sounded cool and Aragorn was the coolest. </p><p>Peter's brain works in mysterious ways.</p><p>It took about an hour of explaining for Peter to get the basic plot and characters to the trilogy, with Ashryn getting slightly annoyed at Peter comparing it to Star Wars, they were in different genres, for crying out loud.</p><p>As The Return Of The King's rising action started up, Peter found himself starting to get invested on the Rohirrim and their ride to help Gondor, he even got a laugh out when Gimli said his famous line, 'That still only counts as one!'</p><p>He decided to save that as a pop culture reference for when another hero took out a large enemy.</p><p>About 8 hours into the flight and after a large pop from the duo at the destruction of poor Gollum and the cursed ring. They found themselves yawning in unison. There were still 8 or more hours to get to Tokyo, though. </p><p>Ashryn heard a small yawn come from beside her, she glanced over at her superior. "There's still a lot more time to go so... I think I might follow your lead on that."</p><p>Peter, being the awkward duck that he was, panicked and shook his head. "Oh no, I-I wasn't tired... it just came out naturally."</p><p>The female just shook her head as a small chuckle escaped her lips, "You go to sleep, Pete. I'll pull down the room seperator thingy." </p><p>"Fine... but I am a pretty light sleeper... so-" </p><p>"Peter." </p><p>"Fine, fine..."</p><p>-----</p>
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